Mendes agrees to direct new Bond movie

After months of in-and-out reports on the new James Bond film, "Skyfall" director Sam Mendes is heading back to MI6.

Sony Pictures and longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson finally struck a deal with Mendes, who had said for months that he wouldn't do it.

The movie, unofficially known as Bond 24, is to hit U.S. theaters on Nov. 6, 2015, and British screens two weeks before.

That's just a three-year lag between films, after legal troubles created a five-year gap between "Skyfall" and its predecessor, 2008's "Quantum of Solace." As previously reported, Daniel Craig will return as the iconic Bond.

Since directing the 23rd Bond picture, Mendes has been engaged in theater work with shows such as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "King Lear." He said in the spring that it was an "extremely difficult decision" but he had decided "not to accept" Broccoli's and Wilson's offer to do a new Bond movie.

Mendes did not specifically say what changed his mind, but he alluded to producers being accommodating on his schedule:

"I am very pleased that by giving me the time I need to honor all my theater commitments, the producers have made it possible for me to direct Bond 24. I very much look forward to taking up the reins again," he said.

Certainly they and Sony would have reason to want Mendes back. Mendes' "Skyfall" was the franchise's highest-grossing installment yet, taking in $304 million domestically and a total of $1.1 billion worldwide.

Every single Bond film has grossed more in the U.S. than those that came before, but "Skyfall" particularly shattered the record, taking in nearly twice of "Quantum's" $168 million.

"Skyfall" was regarded as a canny update on the Bond legend, garnering widespread acclaim and an extraordinarily high 92 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The new film's creative direction remains to be seen, but from the end of "Skyfall," a few things seem clear:

The film could have a bigger role for Naomie Harris' Miss Moneypenny, and it will thrust Ralph Fiennes' government agent Gareth Mallory into a central role occupied by the now-late M (Judi Dench).

The overall tone remains a question. Despite the inward-looking, post-9/11 turn in "Skyfall," the film had a certain throwback quality as well. "I said from the beginning I wanted this movie to get the Bond back into Bond," Craig said.